Sinews Of Anguish
Epic Doom Metal
2009
| The Band | The Music | The Rest |
| Mik "Meister der Töne" Mentor : Operatic Invocations & Ars Melancholica | 1. The Final Pledge (5:23) | Shadow Kingdom Records / SKR021CD |
| Martin "Melancholic Master" Mendelssohn : Rhythm and Lead Guitars | 2. Wrapped In Ruins (6:16) | Runnin' Time 58:22 |
| Allan Larsen, "Der Klangtreue" : Lead Guitars | 3. Behind The Veil Of Nights (7:20) | EAC v0.99pb5 Secure, No C2, Disable Cache |
| C. Nörgaard : Bass | 4. My Pinnacle Of Power (9:13) | Ape Monkey's Audio 4.05 |
| Lars Ström : Drums, Mellotron and Lead Guitar | 5. A Retreat Into Delusions (6:18) | Winrar 3.90 + 5% Recovery |
| Cheryl Pyle the Flute Mistress - Flute | 6. Casus Belli (5:36) | All Scans@96dpi |
| 7. Stainless Steel (7:08) | ||
| MySpace | 8. Sinews Of Anguish (11:08) | Size: 390MB splitted into 3 files |
Review
(HellRideMusic.com)
Altar of Oblivion’s demo attracted some attention in the doom metal underground a couple of years ago and now courtesy of Shadow Kingdom Records we have the debut full length Sinews of Anguish. Right from the opening minute of “The Final Pledge” the stand alone uniqueness of Altar of Oblivion’s approach to epically themed and structured heavy/doom metal is quite apparent. The guitar work from Martin Mendelssohn and Allan Larsen has both a feel of choppy, urgent intensity and a hauntingly beautiful and moving melodic authority. The vocals, while the work of one man Mik Mentor, are multi-dimensional in their weaving on this dark tale of WWII despair, disillusionment and death, at times bringing to mind anything from monks proclaiming doom in a chant to a tortured spirit’s confession howled from beyond the void. This effect can be so profound that at times you would swear that there is more than one vocalist involved here.
This is a difficult album to review in any kind of track by track fashion as there is a continuity of both theme and style that cements the entirety of Sinews of Anguish into a cohesive and powerful representation of the concept behind it. Demo track “Wrapped in Ruins” fits in so perfectly that it has me wondering if it were not the birth track, so to speak, of the concept. Throughout this disc the attention to detail in the songwriting is breath taking, serving to highlight both the compositional strengths and excellent performances. Melodic themes weave through the song structures, vocal work, rhythm work and lead work, highlighting different aspects and presenting different permutations. The rhythm section deserves a solid show of appreciation for doing a spot on job of propelling and supporting the melodic might of the guitars and vocals. The highly ambitious nature of the parts at the forefront could have easily crumbled without the rock solid and thunderous support they get here.
The guitar work is something to behold. There is a Schenker-esque searing melodic edged tone to a lot of the solos that provides perfect counterpoint to the chunky and urgent riffing. The ability to achieve dramatic impact through the placement of leads in the songs and through the performance of those leads is unceasing and at times truly moves into the realm of the genius, two examples being the section launching about 7 minutes and twenty seconds into “My Pinnacle of Power” which manages to demonstrate a fiery explosiveness and also the perfect restraint and the last minute and a half of “Casus Belli” where a lead goes from wailing melodic intensity to skittering over the thunder like a stainless steel spider across a glass web and back to searing simplicity. Perfection in placement and execution is damn near a sub theme of this album when it comes to guitar work.
The uniqueness of the vocals has a powerful immediacy and Mr. Mentor does an admirable job of conveying the stifling and pervasive darkness, hopelessness and pain that are the heart of the concept story without ever becoming maudlin or affected. The overall effect of all the parts coming together on this album is truly stunning and becomes more and more so with every listen. Despite having a powerful first listen effect, the term “grower” absolutely applies to Sinews of Anguish, as on repeated listens new facets are continuously revealed and the power and majesty of the whole seem to swell and grow. This has a hell of a lot of maturity for a debut album.
The packaging is grade A as we’ve come to expect from Shadow Kingdom. The cover art is amazing and complimentary of the music and the story to a degree rarely seen. Not a single downside to this release in sight, unless you count the fact that the negative emotions and the very real sense of doom are so effectively transmitted that the psychologically weak could be annihilated by it. An absolute classic, I have no doubt this one will stand the test of time. Congratulations to the band for a massive accomplishment and to Shadow Kingdom for another jewel in the crown of what just may be the best year a metal label has ever had.
Rapidshare
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